What Christ Gave Up At Calvary
Mt. 27:33-51
by Dr. Eldon Stevens

Let me take you to Calvary:

Calvary:

The most sacred spot on earth.
Where Jesus died that you might live.
Where it turned black as night at mid-day.
Where they gave Jesus vinegar mingled with gall.
Where the Son of God was forsaken by his father.
Where angels wept and the demons danced.
Where Jesus prayed and the crowd cursed.
Where heaven mourned and hell laughed.
Where God was victorious.
Where Satan was defeated.
Where: There’s a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains

It’s 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning. We hear the sound of iron against iron ringing through the still morning air. Hammer against spike as three men are nailed to their crosses and raised up against the Jerusalem sky.
Two of them deserve their fate.
But the one in the CENTER is the SON of MAN.
Bleeding for our sins.
Cursed at and spit on for our sins.
They wagged their heads at him for our sins.
Taunted by and ugly mob for our sins.
Jesus cries out, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34

There’s Mary, the Lord’s mother watching close by.
There’s John the beloved disciple.
Jesus speaks, "Woman, Behold thy son! John, Behold thy mother." John 19:26-27
Isn't it just like Jesus to care for his mother's future before he dies.

The two thieves cursed him, but then one repented.
It usually took 5 to 6 days to die this horrible death of crucifixion.
Not this time. This was a Special Saboth. They would be dead before sundown.
The Roman soldiers would break their legs to speed up the process of death.
The thief knew he was going to die that day and plunge into the pit of hell.
He knew that he deserved to go to hell.
He could smell the smoke and feel the flames licking at his feet.
He didn't want to go to hell, he wanted to be saved!!!
"Lord, Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." He cried.
"Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise." answered Jesus.
He couldn't get baptized. No use.
He couldn't be confirmed. No use.
He couldn't join the church. No use.
ALL he could do was trust Jesus. Now he’s at peace.

It’s now High Noon. It’s PITCH BLACK !!! Blacker then the blackest night.
You couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Absolutely no light for three long hours.
And then at about 2:59 pm Jesus cries out, "My God, My God, Why has thou forsaken me?"

The sun once more begins to shine. Jesus cries out,
"I thirst. It is finished! Into thy hands I commend my spirit."

You can't add anything to what Jesus has done.
No Baptism.
No Confirmation.
No Church Membership.

Buddha died. That was it.
Mohammed died. That was it.
Joseph Smith died. That was it.
Mary Baker Eddy died. That was it.
Jesus died. That was the beginning !!!

Come with me to II Corinthians 5:21.
"Burn this into your heart."
What happened on the cross?
He became sin so we could become righteous.
He drank the cup of sin. "ALL SIN." John 18
The Father gave him the cup.
The cup was poured on him. Isaiah 53:6
The cup was poured in him. II Peter 2:24
You are what you eat and drink.
Jesus drank the cup of sin. ALL SIN.
He did it for you that you might be saved.
John 6:38-40 - vs. 38, "I shall lose nothing."
Christ loses nobody. You cannot lose salvation.
Jesus died for salvation not probation.

I want to share the following three facts with you.

1. Jesus was human - He was a man.
   1 Tim 3:16 "Great is the mystery of Godliness...
   God was manifest in the flesh."
   Heb 2:16-17 "But he took on him the Seed of Abraham."
   John 19:5 "And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man."
2. Jesus is holy - He was God.
   Heb. 4:15 "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin"
   Heb. 7:26 "who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and
   made higher than the heavens."
3. Jesus had a Helper - He was the Son of God.
   John 11:41 "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me."
<\OL>

Three Things Christ Gave Up at Calvary for You.

1. Jesus Gave Up His Holiness. Psalms 22:1-3
1. "Thou art holy" but not Jesus - remember he became sin for you and me.
   Guilty of ALL OUR SIN. ALL lies ALL adulteries ALL homosexuality ALL lesbian ALL cheating ALL sodomy ALL perversion ALL drug abuse ALL murders ALL sedation ALL rioting ALL idolatry ALL divisions ALL molesting ALL drunkenness ALL stealing
   Jesus became the wretched, the cursed, the defiled. He drank the cup of your sin and mine and gave up his holiness for you.
2. Jesus Gave Up His Humanity. Psalms 22:6
   
   1. "I am a worm and no man."
      Remember Jesus became the sin of the world.
   1. A low serpent like worm. The lowest of the low.
   2. All sin jammed in and on his body on the cross.
   3. A wife gets angry with her husband and says: "YOU WORM!"
   4. We crush them under our heal of our shoe.
   2. Serpent in the wilderness. John 3:14.
      "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."
   1. Fiery serpents came into the camp.
   2. People were bitten and began to die.
   3. God said to Moses, Make a brazen serpent and set it on a pole. All who look - will live.
   3. Christ became the serpent on the cross.
   1. We've been bitten and poisoned by the fiery serpent of sin.
      Adam & Eve in the garden. Without help we will surely die.
   2. We must look to the cross plus nothing.
      No Baptism
      No Church Membership
      No Confirmation
      LOOK & LIVE, LOOK & LIVE,
      LOOK TO JESUS NOW AND LIVE.
   3. Christ is the answer. Isaiah 53:3-8
   Despised & Rejected Stricken & Smitten & Afflicted & Booed
   Wounded & Bruised
   Oppressed & Afflicted
   Cut-Off
   He became the WORM OF SIN
   and gave up his humanity for you.
   4. Jesus Gave Up His Helper. Psalms 22:1
   1. Because He became sin. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
   2. HELP ME. Verse 11 "trouble is near: for there is none to help."
   3. HELP ME. Verse 19 "O my strength, haste thee to help me."
      BUT there was no help forth coming.
      He didn't cry out to his "Father" - He cried out to "GOD". GOD is not the Father of sin - Jesus had become the sin of the world..
      GOD cannot look upon sin - He turned his back and covered the world in darkness.
      When Jesus became the sin of the world, He gave up His Helper for you.

   It’s now 3:00 PM. The sun once more begins to shine. Jesus cries out, "I thirst."
   He got his humanity back !!!
   "It is finished!"
   He got his holiness back !!!
   "Into thy hands I commend my spirit."
   He got his helper back !!!
   You can't add anything to what Jesus has done.
   He did it all for you.
   

   Will you come to the old rugged cross today?
   Will you LOOK to Jesus NOW and LIVE?
   

   Dear Christian friend:
   After all He’s done for you,
   how can you do less then give him your best
   and live for him completely?
   After all He’s done for you!
   

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